Hackling machine



Feb. 5 1924,

L. B. wooT'roN HACKLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 11, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

.By y

TTUHNEYS' i Il? WITNESSES L. B. WOOTTON H ACKLING MACHINE Feb. 5 ,v 1924. l 1,483,034

Filed Nov. 11. 1922 2 Sheets-sheet 2 Patented Feb. 5, 1924.

LUCIUS B. WOOTTON, OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

HACKLING IVLACIFIIIWIEl Applicatonled November 11, 1922. Serial No. 600,361.

T all whom t may concern:

Be it known thatI, LUoiUs B. VVoo'r'roN,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Jacksonville, in the county of Duval and State of Florida, have invented a new and Improved Hackling Machine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention vrelates to hackling machines, and has for its primary object to provide an improved construction which will simplify the process of haclling and cleaning cabbage pa-lmetto and similar articles. y

Another object of the invention is to provide avma'chine wherein the liber may be secured from the palmetto boots, jackets, leaves and stems by one operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hackling machine wherein not only may fiber be secured by one operation,

but a large proportion may be secured with a minimum effort.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side View of part of the hackling machine disclosing an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional viewthrough Figure l, approximately on line 2-2.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through Figure 4, on line 3--3;

Figure 4 is a plan view of two sections of the hackling wheel shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is'` an enlarged detail fragmentary sectional view through Figure 2 von line 5 5;

Figure 6 is a sectional view through Figure 5 approximately on line 6 6.

Heretofore in securing' fiber from the cabbage palmetto, it has been necessary to boil the raw product from forty-five to fifty hours, and then pass the same through' the hackling machine twice tov secure the desired hackling and cleaning thereof. This double hackling injures certain ofthe fiber, and, consequently, the proportion of fiber, secured is comparatively small compared to the one operation hereafter described. In

the present invention there isv provided a* hackling machine which with one `boiling and one hackling operation will secure the desired fiber, and, at thesame time, remove the dirt and produce a finished fiber ready for use.l

palmetto, the' palme'tt'o boots' or leaves are Agrasped at one end by they operator, while the other end is inserted Yinto the haclrling machine so that a portionV thereof, usually about one-half, comes incontactwith the teeth of the hackling machine. VThis results in shredding of approximately one-I.

half -of the boot or leaf. When this shredding action has been'r carried on as long as the' operator thinks necessary, or until the inserted end is in shreds, the operatonwithdraws the boot or leaf from the machineI and reverses his grasp thereon and yinserts the unshredded end while .holding "the shredded part of the boot or leaf. In this way the unshredded part of the boot is liaclled and shredded so that the entire.

boot or leaf is reduced to a shredded condition. According to the present invention, the boot or leafas it is shredded is operated 0n by the water jetsfhereinafter fully-de scribed which are lprojectedy with considerableforcer against that part of the boot being shredded whereby itis cleaned at the same time that it is reduced to shreds. This cleaning andshredding action ktakes plaec at both ends ofthe boot so that' the entire boot is shredded and clean. In this lost completely and discharged from y,the

machine with the pulp and waste.

In the present invention, a foraminous belt has been. provided whereby this lost fiberv may be recovered with but little effort and, consequently, the presenty inventionA produces a larfreramount kof merchantable liber from a given quantity of palmetto boot than the machine heretofore used. f

lI-Ieretofore,` all the waste matter which was not fiber `in the ordinary sense of the word, as understood by those'in the business, butwhich was so finely shredded as ytoconstitute mere hairs or fine shavings,.waslost When haclling a r given quantity of by reason .of6 being deposited with dirtand waste material,` These fine shreds or shav-v ings were commercially unsalable. In the present invention, means have been provided for cleaning and recovering these hairs` or fine shreds. This particular product, namely, the fine shreds or hairs are valuable, not for the same purpose as the principal shreds retained in the operators hand, but are valuable as a substitute for hair in the manufacture of plaster board and for other similar uses. This saving of the line hairs or shavings, takes care also of the very short fibers which may be used for different purposes, as for instance, in the manufacture of plaster boards.

In the accompanying drawings, a machine embodying the invention is illustrated and is constructed in such a manner that by one hackling operation a maximum amount of liber may be recovered with a minimum effort. The principal fiber is recovered by the hand of the operator and the remaining fiber' recovered through the action of a foraminous belt and other parts hereinafter fully described.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, l indicates a frame of any desired kind which may be of any suitable length, and on this fra-me 1 any desired number of hackling drums 2 may be mounted and driven by any suitable source of power. In Figure 1, two drums have been shown connected to a driving shaft 3, which is operated by a belt Li, which belt receives power from any suitable source. Each of the drums 2 is provided with a hood or casing 5, which entirely encloses the drum except at the bottom and at the entrance or feed opening 6. The hackling drums 2 are provided with a number of plates 7 each plate having a row of sharpened pins or teeth 8, said teeth being staggered as indicated in Figure 4, so as to produce a better hackling action. The plates 7 may be secured together by bands or in any other desired manner so as to com- (Si)VA plete the drum structure, which in turn is secured in any suitable manner to end members 9, said end members being rigidly secured to the shaft 8. The unhaekled boots are placed in entrance of opening 6 by the operator who retains one end in his hand. A feeding and guiding chute 10 is arranged adjacent each drum 2 and extends inwardly from the 4opening 6.

When a quantity 11 of palmetto is to be shredded, it is placed in position, as shown in4 Figure 2, and as it is held by the operator, it is broken up and shredded by the pins or teeth 8 of the drum 2. During this operation, the operator retains practically all of the goed fiber except the shorter fibers, and tliebers which are broken by action of the teethl In this shredding, the pulp and dirt :are vboth removed or rather loosened up, land in .order to remove the same, a-.plurality of j'ets of water are provided. Preferably a pipe 12 is provided' with a number of apertures facing the chute 10 so that the water Will strike the material 11 as it is being shredded and washthe dirt and objectionable matter therefrom as the teeth perform their function. 1n order to provide the desired washing action in addition to wetting the material, the water sprayed from the pipe 12 is preferably discharged at a comparatively high pressure, as, for instance, fifty pounds per square inch. 1t will thus be seen that the Water not only wets the fiber and allows it to be hackled in a better manner, but acts in a mechanical way to wash out objectionable matter. The hackled and washed palmetto is retained in the grasp of the operator-s hand except such as is torn therefrom by the shredding teeth and passes down the chute and is discharged onto the upper run of the belt 13.

It will be noted from Figure 2 .that by reason of the speed of rotation of the drum 2 and the action of the water, the merchantable fibers torn from thek grasp of thel operator move over to approximately point la on thebelt, while the dirt and pulp re main at approximately the point 15 until the Water washes the dirt downwardly and out through the bottom member 16.

This arrangement causes'the dirt and pulp to be automatically separated from the merehantable fiber wrenched from the grasp of the operator and when the matter on the belt 13 is discharged at the end of the belt, the fiber will be discharged at one point and the pulp at another, and the loose dirt will pass with 'the water downwardly into the member 16. The belt 18 may be of any* suitable foraminous material which will' allowl the water, dirt and pulp v'to pass freely therethrough but which will retain the merchantable fiber lost from the operators grasp. The desired form of belt is shown particularly in Figures 2, 5 and G, from which figures it will be seen that the belt is made up of side endless chains 17 and 18 which pass over sprocket wheels near each end ofthe machine` there being two sprocket wheels at each end so ythat an even proper drive will be provided. Connected' with these two endless chains is al central portion or body of the belt which consistsof a number of tubes and wire mesh covering therefor held in place as hereinafter fully described. The respective chains 17 and 18 are provided at intervals (as for instance, twelve inches) with an attaching facing plate 21 on the inside of the chain. These facing plates "21 are of metal and formedv with cones 22 which are drilled preferably with tapered holes to admit the respective cotter pins 28. On these cones are 4positioned the respective tubes or pipes 2O which for practical purposes, may be one linch in outside diameter and which-at each end are drilled for receiving the respective cotter pins 23 so that these tubes are firmly held to the cones and form a foundation or support for the wire mesh 19. Arranged preferably centrally of the respective tubes 20 is a third cotter pin which is provided particularly for holding the wire mesh 19 on the bed of tubes. The wire mesh 19 is laid over this bed of tubes and fastened to it with a Set of cotter pins 24 as well as by the end cotter pins 23 which are forced through the Wire mesh so that the heads will project therefrom. The wire mesh is fastened to these cotter pins by utilizing and lacing in through the Wire mesh and through the head of the cotter pins a very stiff, strong wire 25 for each series of cotter pins, said Wire extending the entire length of the belt. The wire mesh 19 may be of any desired mesh, as for instance, one-fourth of an inch. The function of the wire mesh is to'catch the pulp and 'the shreds of liber andsupport these and carry them off, at the same time, permitting the water to run away. Below the belt 18 is arranged a trough 16 which is an inclined trough running the entire length of the conveyer belt and preferably having a drop of about twelve inches whereby the water passing through the conveyer will be caught and directed to a suitable discharge point. It will be noted that by means of the separation of the liber and pulp as the hackled material is disposed on the belt, the fiber will be discharged at a different point from the pulp so that there is no need of a manual separation.

After the shredding operation above described, the liber is dried and soaked in paraffin oil. After this has been done, it is assorted into lengths, combed and tied in bundles, ready for shipment.

What I claim is 1. A hackling machine, comprising a hackling drum provided with comparatively thin teeth, means for holding matter to be hackled adjacent said drum so as to permit said teeth to enter said matter and pass through part thereof for shredding the same, means for directing a spray of water under appreciable pressure against said matter as it is being operated upon by said teeth, and traveling means for receiving the hackled material from said matter,

said means acting to discharge the material disposed thereon at a point distant from said drum.

2. A hackling machine, comprising a hackling drum provided with comparatively thin teeth, a chute for directing matter to be hackled to a point adjacent said drum whereby it is entered and shredded by said teeth, and means for directing water under high pressure against the matter to be hackled during the hackling operation.

3. A hackling machine of the character described, comprising a hackling drum, a guide for directing material to be hackled, means for discharging water against the material being hackled during the hackling operation, and a foraminous belt for receiving fiber torn from the material being hackled during the hackling operation, said material being sprayed over said belt according to its Weight, so that the lighter liber will automatically group itself on one side of the belt and the dirt and heavier pulp willl be disposed on the opposite side of the be t.

4. A hackling machine, comprising a hackling drum formed with lshredding teeth, means for supporting a palmetto boot or leaf adjacent said teeth while one end thereof is held by an operator, means for washing the boot as it is hackled so that the fiber retained in the hands of the operator will be washed and the fiber torn from the boot by said teeth will be also washed, and a foraminous carrier for receiving the liber torn from said boot while the dirt and water passes therethrough, said carrier acting to discharge the fiber deposited thereon at a distant point.

5. In a hackling machine of the character described, means for hackling a boot or leaf of palmetto cabbage, said means tearing certain of the fiber from the boot or leaf during the hackling operation, means for discharging water under pressure against said fiber as it is hackled, and a foraminous carrier for receiving the fiber torn from said boot or leaf, said carrier acting to discharge the fiber deposited thereon at a given point while allowing the dirt and water to pass therethrough.

LUCIUS B. WOOTTON. 

